Bran

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Bran

Bran (pronounced: /bræn/) is the hard outer layers of cereal grains along with the germ. It is present in and may be milled from any cereal grain, including rice, corn, wheat, and oats. Bran is often used to enrich breads (notably whole grain breads) and cereal, and can also be found in muesli.

Etymology

The word "bran" comes from the Old French bran, meaning "husk of wheat or other grain".

Nutritional Value

Bran is particularly rich in dietary fiber and essential fatty acids and contains significant quantities of starch, protein, vitamin, and dietary minerals. It is also a source of phytochemicals, including antioxidants and phytosterols, that are beneficial for human health.

Related Terms

  • Cereal: A grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain, composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran.
  • Whole grain: A grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm.
  • Dietary fiber: The indigestible portion of food derived from plants.
  • Fatty acids: Carboxylic acids with long aliphatic chains, which are either saturated or unsaturated.
  • Starch: A polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds.
  • Protein: A nutrient that is used in the body for growth and repair.
  • Vitamin: Organic molecules that are essential micronutrients which an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism.
  • Dietary minerals: Chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen that are present in nearly all organic molecules.
  • Phytochemicals: Chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them thrive or thwart competitors, predators, or pathogens.
  • Antioxidants: Molecules that inhibit the oxidation of other molecules.
  • Phytosterols: A group of steroid compounds similar to cholesterol which occur in plants and vary only in carbon side chains and/or presence or absence of a double bond.

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